I thought about it...do you launch on the WA side or from Jones Beach? I've never sailed there, but live at Willow Grove which isn't far from Nuke Alley. The wind seems to come up late...is that your experience? BTW, there is a large picture in Lonview's Daily News, July 7 issue, of a windsurfer with a green sail. I have a copy if that windsurfer wants a souvenier.

This place is heaven. I launched in WA. Rigged a 5.2 and put her in the brush. At 4:00 it was my 4.7 on a completed outgoing tide. 5:00 picked up with strong wind as the tide moved in creating beautiful ramps. Heavenly!

I thought about it...do you launch on the WA side or from Jones Beach? I've never sailed there, but live at Willow Grove which isn't far from Nuke Alley. The wind seems to come up late...is that your experience?

That's the norm. It's primarily a 3:00 PM 'til dawn spot, often with extremely steady winds. When Portland heats up and Astoria stays cool, Nuke Alley/Jones Beach can rip from late morning until breakfast for 5-10 days in a row. (By "rip" I mean 5.2 at 11 AM, ramping very slowly up to 3.2 from supper 'til midnight.) Catch it on an ebb tide, and beware eye, ear, and/or sinus infections. Flush all three after sailing there.

And when you're out there having a blast roaming all over that stretch between the two islands bracketing Jones Beach, give two seconds' thought to the hundreds of people sweltering in the corridor doldrums because no one told them to drive to Jones Beach or Nuclear Alley. And even if one doesn't windsurf, the 25-30-degree temp drop from Hood River to Jones Beach provides a welcome relief in July and August heat waves.

Yes, which gives sailors an opportunity to seek the wind best suited to the sail they're on. There are 3 or 4 different microclimates and terrain choices in that one-mile stretch of the river, and I've always enjoyed the variety of power and terrain. There's the consistent modest swell and strongest winds in the Alley, the very slightly reduced wind with bigger but less consistent swell downwind/east of the Alley near the WA shore, the dead-flat speed runs south of the Alley in the lee of the island, and the absolute total VOODOO confused big chop along Jones Beach ... the finest actual sand beach on the whole Columbia. Tradeoffs include camping at Jones Beach but not at the Alley vs resentful locals at Jones, but either is a great alternative to 110 degrees and zero mph at Hood River vs 80 degrees and 30 mph @ Jones/Alley.

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